HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The Latest on the Connecticut campaign flier being criticized for being anti-Semitic (all times local):
3:30 p.m.
A Republican candidate for state Senate in Connecticut has apologized for sending out a mailer that has been criticized for being anti-Semitic.
Ed Charamut's campaign staff posted a statement Wednesday on social media, saying the mailer had "unintended consequences." It includes an image of his Democratic opponent, state Rep. Matthew Lesser, with cash in his hands and a maniacal look on his face. Lesser is Jewish.
Lesser says he's not sure Charamut can do anything to lessen the hurt the mailer has caused to his family and the Jewish community.
Charamut's campaign says the mailer was intended to be a comment on Lesser's policy record, not his "race, religion or any other personal characteristic."
The statement indicated Charamut plans to remain in the race.
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11 a.m.
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) — The head of Connecticut's Republican Party acknowledges a campaign mailer sent by a candidate for state Senate was offensive to Jewish people.
The mailer from Republican Ed Charamut, of Rocky Hill, includes an image of his Democratic opponent, state Rep. Matthew Lesser, with cash in his hands and a maniacal look on his face. Lesser is Jewish.
Charamut defended the mailer Tuesday, saying it was not hateful and was meant to draw a contrast to his own fiscal conservatism.
J.R. Romano, the chairman of the state Republican Party, initially defended the mailer, but has since issued a statement saying that after talking to Jewish friends, he has come to realize the image should be "recognized as offensive, raising anti-Semitic tropes."
Romano says he has requested a meeting with members of the state's Anti-Defamation League.
